Take Me to the River
by JeniOctavia Ramsey
Summary: An offworld dig is going horridly, and it gets worse when Jack realizes that Daniel is missing from the group.


Take Me to the River

"Carter?"

"..yes sir?"

"Where's Daniel?"

The silence that followed the simple question was nearly deafening. The sickeningly sweet tone that Colonel Jack O'Neill had just used was enough of an indication of his currently irritated nature to make his female second pause and think of the best way to phrase the answer that she would inevitably have to give.

Had it not been for the hot, muggy, sweat inducing and bad-mood driving conditions on the planet that SG-1 had been on for nearly two days, Carter might, just might, have given an equally simple answer in reply; but even she wasn't brave enough to endure a heat exhausted and completely irate Jack, nor was she in any shape herself to want to deal with it. Oh, she knew where Daniel was, and she wasn't going to lie for him either. He'd never expect that of her, anyway, and they both knew it. It was just a matter of putting it in such a way that half of SG-1 didn't wind up dead by the end of their mission.

Sighing heavily, more out of personal exasperation then anything, Samantha slowly turned her blue eyed gaze up towards the colonel, him staring back expectantly through his dark wrap around sunglasses with an equally sweet and twitchy smile to match his tone. He towered over her, as she was currently bent down on one knee clearing away dirt and debris from the small excavation site Daniel was supposed to be working on with her.

"He took a break…sir," Sam finally responded, managing to put her own best smile on despite the droplets of sweat rolling down her face. She was just as miserable as the rest of the team, with her military garb sticking uncomfortably to her skin and her hair matted with dirt and moisture. Even Teal'c, who'd also gone off, seemed to be having his own adverse reactions to it. One hour in to the mission he'd stopped speaking all together, even resorting to displeased grunts whenever he was spoken to. No one, not even Daniel in the discovery of the ancient slabs found beneath the soft ground of the overgrown jungle that surrounded them, was entirely thrilled to be on that planet.

"A break?" Jack echoed, lips twitching just a little bit more. The sun filtered through some of the thick canopy above, momentarily catching light in his dark glasses while his head tilted down a bit. Sam had to bite back the groan that threatened to come out; she knew that look, "Where, pray tell, did Daniel take this…break?"

Rather the respond, because she quite honestly didn't know the exact location, she raised her hand and pointed towards the small trail that had been cut through some of the taller bushes to the left. She really did know better then to let Daniel go wandering off in to the jungle alone like that, even if the man was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but at the moment when he'd muttered his horrid dislike for this particular mission and rose to leave, she really, really didn't care.

Jack followed the direction of her hand, staring in to the foliage for a long moment before looking back with a nod, that twitchy, strained smile still on his features. Wordlessly he turned and followed said trail, leaving Sam to drop her arm down with a heavy sigh.

"He's a dead man…"

The 'dead man' in question actually did look very much dead right at that moment. His random wanderings through the humid rainforest had actually brought him to the most wonderful sight his heat worn body could ever ask for.

A river. And not just any river. A beautiful one at that, with crystal clear waters, wide banks, dense shaded foliage, and a slope downwards towards it shore that provided just enough cover and just enough leave from the main part of the jungle that it was actually _cool _down there. The rushing water that bubbled and lapped over the rocks and dents inside the riverbed provided a tiny bit of spray at the edge of it, and that was currently where Daniel was, arms behind his head, shaded clips over his normal glasses, hat pulled over his face, and legs crossed at the ankles. The only thing that indicated life within him was the steady rise and fall of his chest. Next to him his vest and equipment lay along with his boots, which he'd kicked off the second he'd decided to lay down for his relaxing break.

Sure, it was a bit rude, cruel even, to not radio in and mention his find, let the rest of the team come down and relax by the shore, but at the moment of discovery the good doctor simply didn't want to be disturbed. A few moments of alone time, a chance to cool down and relax, that was all he wanted. There was no relief from the heat, or from his increasingly bitchy comrades, before then, so one really couldn't blame him for wanting to keep it to himself, at least for a little while.

Besides, he'd tell them eventually.

Eventually never came, though. As he'd just started to slip in to a light doze, completely unaware that he'd even been located, he was jerked out his peaceful reverie by two simple words.

"Oh, Daniel!"

"AHHH!" he cried out, flailing awake, as his glasses and hat were sent askew. His bleary, slightly distorted gaze landed on a familiar set of dark eyes shadowed by darker lenses. The smile that the colonel had used on his second was gone, replaced by a very un-amused scowl.

"Danny boy!" Jack chirped, making him look a tad eerie with the conflict between the way he spoke and the way his face remained stoic.

"..Jack." Daniel responded, shoulders tensing a bit as he realized just how much trouble he was in. Slowly Jack, still crouched down with his arms draping over his knees, tilted his head up to examine the area that the younger man was lounging on.

"Were you uh…going to bother to tell us about this?" he said, lifting a finger up just briefly to gesture at the bubbling river.

"E-eventually," Daniel stammered, wondering if a well-chosen moment of rambling might just let him off the hook. Jack always did say that his flustered moments were his 'cutest'. Then again, that was when they were at home…not on missions…

"Eventually? So this was what…just a rest? Little rest while the rest of us break our backs over something that _you _discovered?"

Daniel had enough dignity to sigh and close his eyes, looking both apologetic and irritated at the same time. Yes, he should have told them, he knew that, but he figured Jack of all people could have understood the need for even a tiny bit of alone time. Even they didn't spend every waking minute together, and they'd been an item for almost six months at that point. Of course Jack's current attitude, with the way his voice was just hinging on being pissed off, he was pretty certain that reason wasn't going to work.

"Jack…" was what came out of all his thinking, tone whiny as he lacked anything decent to say in response to the accusation.

"No. No, don't worry about it. I understand." Jack said tersely, holding two hands in the air and rising to a standing position, leaving Daniel on the ground where he stared up at his companion with a bewildered look. Though he was now standing again, Jack made no move to leave the area, hands shoved in his pockets, expression unreadable as he stared out at the wide, peaceful river. Silence, save for the sounds of the water and what little wildlife resided in the jungle, reigned for a long time before Daniel, fed up with everything and everyone on their mission, grunted indignantly and rose to his feet, grabbing his belongings, pushing his glasses back in to place with a nudge of his shoulder, and stormed by the older man.

"Fine. I'll go back. Sorry for being such a pain in the _ass_, Colonel," he grumbled, not even sure why exactly he was saying it, just letting the words slip out as they pleased. Jack sighed heavily as his shoulder was lightly brushed, lips pursing as his dark gaze followed Daniel's movements. Eyes flickered back to the water and a devious smirk spread across his lips. Quickly he reached down and tugged on the laces of his boots, yanking them off as fast as he could, keeping part of his vision over his shoulder as he made sure Daniel didn't get too far. The other man just kept trudging up the small hill to the trail in the foliage never once looking back to see what Jack was up to.

Once the second boot was off, completely neglecting his socks, as his other would have gotten too far away at that point, Jack trudged up the hill after the sandy haired man. He caught up easily and tapped Daniel on his back with a single finger, receiving nothing but a grunt in response.

"Yeah. Thought so," Jack drawled softly, shaking his head slowly, "Danny…get over yourself, wouldyeh?"

"And just what the hell is that supposed to m-aaaaah!" Right as Daniel turned around to confront Jack he was met with a sudden shoulder in his stomach and the sensation of being lifted off the ground, getting a birds eye view of a certain someone's rear end along with the ground moving beneath them as Jack started walking, one very surprised scientist hauled over his shoulder. Though his knees ached from the added weight on his body as he went back down the slope and towards the river, the grin on his face was ever present as he anticipated the reaction Daniel was going to have in a few minutes.

Glasses, hat and belongings were dropped one by one on the ground, leaving a trail in their wake. Flailing pathetically, much like a child trapped by his older sibling, Daniel could do nothing but verbally protest as loudly as possible, each step that Jack took causing him to bounce a little.

"JACK! PUT ME DOWN GOD DAMNIT!"

"Sorry it's for your own good, Jackson."

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Jack gave no response as he started to wade in to the water, a shiver running up his spine, shocked at how cold it was compared to the muggy air around them. Daniel heard the sloshing of the water and saw the bank disappear in to crystal clear liquid beneath him.

"Come on Jack I didn't mean to! I'm sorry I didn't radio in!" he started to plead, knowing exactly what was coming for him.

"Oh shut up, Daniel." Jack muttered, shaking his head as he continued to wade through the water, the level rising from calves to his knees. He was looking for a slightly deeper spot to chuck the flailing scientist in to, not wanting the man to crack his head on the bottom and drown but still thinking he needed to go through with his threat so long as Daniel remained thrown over his shoulder.

Of course neither of them had expected that a few feet out in to the river, the bank would suddenly sheer off from a mere two feet in depth to something closer to ten.

Daniel was in the middle of another long-winded protest when Jack's footing completely failed as the unexpected drop off presented itself before his path, sending both men plummeting down in to the rather chilly water. In his momentary shock Jack released his prisoner and pulled himself back upwards, breaking through the rippled and disturbed water, still grinning as, even though he'd been pulled down, too, he'd still managed to accomplish his goal.

Daniel gasped, sucking in a mouth full of it as the temperature smacked his skin after going down, causing his muscles to tense up. For a second he just floated in the clear depths, looking around at the small amount of underwater life that resided down there. Strangely colored and beautiful fish darted around in schools around waving aquatic plants that sat nestled amongst smoothed river stones. If it wasn't for the fact that his lungs were burning already from lack of oxygen, Daniel could have stayed down there and admired the scenery for as long as humanly possible. Instead he was forced to thrash to the surface, breaking the water and glaring at Jack with an un-amused expression not terribly unlike the one that Jack himself had earlier. Water dripped from both of their faces, hair plastered to their head and clothes water logged against their skin as they treaded water.

"Nice going," Daniel grumbled bitterly.

"Oh, lighten up," Jack retorted, flicking his hand up and sending a splash of droplets on to his companion.

"H-hey! Now you're just being childish!"

"Aren't I always?"

"Well yes but…"

"But nothing." Jack said defiantly, flicking water up at him once more. Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes, turning as he started to swim back to shore, muttering obscenities the whole time under his breath, "Heeeey!" Jack whined, turning in the water to follow his movements once more, "Where're you going?" he waited for some sort of answer but received none, Daniel now past the sharp drop off and wading through the knee high depth back to shore. Jack's head canted to the side, unable to help, if even for a moment, a glance at the now wet body that was accented by the clothing clinging to every little curve. Of course this didn't deter him from the fact at hand: Daniel was, once again, walking away from a fight, and not even a real one at that. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned back and let a low mutter of "Puss" emit from his lips.

Daniel stopped mid-step, narrowed eyes looking over his shoulder with his head turned only a tiny bit, lips pursed together. The area became eerily silent as Daniel debated mentally while Jack, who'd caught the sudden halt, simply treaded in the water while staring with raised eyebrows.

Slowly the younger of the two turned around, waded back through the water and came to a halt at the drop off, toes just barely hanging over the edge as he'd nearly misjudged the distance from where he'd been standing to its location.

"I'm a puss then?" Daniel asked, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping two wet fingers on the dampened sleeve of his black tee shirt.

"Well I.." Jack started, seeming a tiny bit flustered. He hadn't actually expected Daniel to hear what he was saying over all that water sloshing and his own muttering. Reaching behind his head he absently scratched at a few wet tufts of gray hair, causing them to stick out at odd angles as he gave an almost apologetic stare to his other.

Before he even had a chance to react, the action so completely unlike him that it threw Jack off his usual guard, Daniel leaped forward through the water and tackled Jack, pushing him back by locking his hands on his shoulders and sending them both under once more. Another slash resounded through the small clearing and seconds passed before their heads were bobbing through the water once more, Jack now looking rather disgruntled and Daniel the one with the grin.

"You were saying?"

"Oh…shut up!" was all Jack could manage, the smugness on Daniel's face making him bristle slightly as he realized that the pacifist archeologist had gotten the upper hand on him.

"Aw, wassamatter, Jack?" Daniel taunted, voice ridiculous sounding as he mocked the older man. Playfully he sent a small wave towards him with a flick of his wrist and forearm, which Jack of course made no effort to block or get away from.

"You are so d-"

"Achem."

Two heads jerked over towards the noise and its source: a very, very irritated looking Samantha standing at the edge of the riverbed, arms across her chest, lips tight across her face, and eyebrow quirked in question to her two male teammates' behavior.

"Sam! Hi. We were just…" Daniel started, instantly falling over his words as he realized just how absolutely ridiculous him and Jack looked right then.

"We were…" Jack tried to add in, having similar thoughts as he treaded in the water, one hand coming up to move in his opened mouth silence.

Grouchy, hot, and entirely too confused to really wait for an explanation, Sam rolled her eyes in a look that just screamed 'Ugh, men!' as she pivoted on her heel and went storming back to the excavation site. Bewildered, the two men gaze at each other with similar expressions before a smile, horribly mischievous, spread across Jack's lips, mimicked only seconds later by Daniel as they instantly were on the same wavelength.

Sloshing out of the water, both dripping wet but clearly feeling better, they trailed after Sam until they were able to each grab an arm and tug back, much to her surprise.

"AHH! LET GO! LETGOLETGOLETGO!" she squealed, flailing in a panic as her two friends and teammates hauled her backwards, "DANIEL I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" she insisted very loudly and very shrilly, one arm flapping like a broken wing on a bird against his side in an attempt to get at least one of them to release her. Both were laughing too much to care about the fact that, if she were to get free, she probably could get both of them down on the ground in no time flat.

Once in the shallow part of the water Daniel did release her and, though she tried to run the second she felt his grip leave, she was dragged back only to be lifted in to the air by Jack and tossed unceremoniously in to the area past the drop off, sending her down with a loud splash in her wake. Seconds passed and she shot back up like a rocket, wrapping her arms around herself, as she found no shame in shivering at the unusual temperature of the water.

"H-holy hanna that's cold."

"Oh come on, its not that bad. Better then the sweltering heat, isn't it?" Daniel asked, grinning like crazy at the normally dignified Major now looking all the part of a drowned rat. Glaring, Sam turned her cold blue eyes in to the two of them, her expression speaking volumes to the culprits of her current state. Two pairs of eyes went wide in return as Jack muttered the one word that came to mind.

"Run."

They turned and attempted to get away despite the pressure of the water against their legs, but in a flurry of flying water, limbs and one very determined female who happened to have a very, very strong grip that managed to latch on to the backs of their shirts, they were both sent flailing down in to the cold water once more.

"Guh…" Daniel muttered once he'd resurfaced, "Remind me to never play Marco Polo with you, Sam."

"No shit.." Jack agreed, sticking his pinky in his ear and wiggling it around as he was sure some miniature fish had managed to swim in there during their time below.

"Well that's what you get," she stated haughtily, also smiling. She would have been the first to admit that once she'd been in there a while it really wasn't so bad, even if she would have rather had the option about being dumped in.

"Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c's voice sounded from the shore, catching their attention. Though clearly confused, as shown by the one upturned eyebrow seemingly higher then usual and stoic expression mingling with a bit of silent questioning, he never mentioned their current situation outright, "We are due back in fifteen minutes."

Jack lifted his arm up and glanced at his waterlogged watch, shaking it a bit to get a few remaining drops off the face, "Are we? Wow. Time flies. Alright then, everyone out."

Teal'c nodded and pushed back through the bushes to the site as Sam paddled to the shallow area before rising and out of the water and walking the rest of the way to shore, clothes dripping a trail behind her as she followed Teal'c, chuckling quietly to herself.

Jack glanced at Daniel after she was gone, running a hand through his dampened hair, unfortunately making the already disheveled look worse by having pieces of it stick up at random points.

"Going?"

"Yeah, in a minute," he responded, still smiling as he gave a sideways glance to Jack.

"We're going to be late. You know how Hammond hates it when we're late."

"Yeah, I know."

"Theeeeen why aren't you going?" Jack asked, lifting his hands up to gesture towards the shore.

"'cause," he responded simply, the smile twitching a bit more upwards in to an all out smirk. Jack opened his mouth to tell Daniel to stop being cryptic when he was suddenly shoved back under the water, said mouth being captured in a very brief kiss as the two of them floated through the clear depths. He was released a second later, though he remained down below in slight shock before finding something resembling footing and pushed back to the surface. Daniel was already halfway out of the water; shirt pulled off as he rung the moisture out of it while walking.

Jack had half a mind to say something, particularly find a reason to snap at him for doing that while they were off world, where both of them knew better then to behave in that manner, but everything in his mind was completely for justifying Daniel's actions. Shaking his head with a light chuckle, he treaded behind him and headed back to the site and the Stargate.

The event horizon disappeared with a wooshing noise as SG-1, along with a MALP and a small rover exited on to the ramp back in the twenty-sixth floor of the SGC base. While the loading up of the equipment back out in the horrid heat of the jungle had provided some drying of the tree soaked team members, they'd still managed to remain fairly wet upon returning back to Earth. This, of course, brought some interesting looks from General Hammond seeing as Teal'c was the only dry one of the three, indicating that it obviously wasn't weather problems that had resulted in their current condition. That, and they were still each still bearing some semblance of a smile on their faces.

"Ah…welcome back, SG-1," Hammond said, tone a little softer and clearly more confused then usual, "How was it?"

"Good!" Jack said, grinning at his two other companions knowingly, "We found some…stuff that Daniel was all over," he added, waving a hand in the air, "And a river. Very…nice river."

"I can see that, Colonel," Hammond replied with a rather dubious look, wondering if by chance maybe his flagship team wasn't going a tad off their rockers, "Debriefing at sixteen hundred," he finally said, turning on his heel and heading back out of the embarkation room. Jack called out some sort of affirmation before looking to his team and following suit, wandering out in to the hall. At some point Teal'c veered off and went on his own way, probably to go rest and change before the debriefing.

The other three were quiet for a long time as they wandered through the halls until Jack piped up.

"Wanna go to the pool?"

Sam let out a snort and Daniel put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

"You're being serious?"

"Yeah. I can understand if you're too chicken to be in the water with me again, though." Jack teased, glancing back at the two of them.

"Oh you're on!" Sam and Daniel chorused at once.

"Race ya!" Jack exclaimed, taking off suddenly. The other two exchanged quick looks before setting off in pursuit, leaving several confused airmen in their wake.


End file.
